April & May 2014: Melting snow, roller derby and Bombay Bicycle Club

2014 was a good year for live music. I forgot to mention that in early January we got to see Neutral Milk Hotel live. That show was out.stand.ing. I never thought I’d get to see them live. I have no photos or videos as we were asked not to take any – and I listened.

In early April we got to see Daughter again, but I have to admit that after seeing them in 2013 at a packed venue with a super enthusiastic crowd, I felt like the show at the Corona really didn’t hold up. It felt like their tunes were sped up and that they’d added extra and unnecessary instrumentation. I’d like to see them again to see if it was just that one show in particular that was a bit off.

April in Montreal this year was quite cold, so I spent some time photographing the snow-melting process and learning how to fishtail braid. When things started to warm up, the roller derby season also began. Roisin and I became pretty committed to watching the sport and supporting the fantastic New Skids on the Block.

I started some culinary experiments, we went on several epic walks around the city and we began discussing whether or not we should stay in Montreal or move elsewhere. Going to Niagara with Scott the previous month had somewhat ruled that area out as an option and although we love Toronto we weren’t willing to pay the price to live there. So we pondered for hours and hours while we walked about where we’d end up.

Roisin turned 23 and opted for a cheap cherry pie as her “cake” – to each their own. I chopped all my hair off, the snow finally melted by May and we did see Tegan & Sara live again at some point during the month. The importance of that event was shattered by us getting to see Bombay Bicycle Club for the first time. They are indeed my absolute favourite. So good live.

And we ended the month with what would end up being our final Montreal concert: The Courtneys. Where’d we go? Stay tuned.

The set list from the Bombay Bike Club show:
Overdone
It’s Alright Now
Shuffle
Come To
Your Eyes
Lamplight
Evening/Morning
How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep
Home By Now
Feel
Lights Out, Words Gone
Eyes Off You
Whenever, Wherever
Luna
Always Like This
So Long, See You Tomorrow

Encore:
What If
Carry Me

After the gig I got to say hello to Jack and I told him we’d chosen one of his tunes to walk down the aisle to which was pretty neat.